CLEVELAND, Ohio - It's been three years since Lorde was sitting on top of the music world with a monster single ("Royals"), two Grammys and a multi-platinum album in "Pure Heroine."

Lorde - "Melodrama"Universal Music

One might assume she spent the time off basking in the glory of success. But her new album tells a very different story.

"Melodrama" is a breakup album for the ages, driven by heartache, self doubt and loneliness that's more relatable than 99 percent of today's pop music.

Don't be fooled by the album's opening manifesto. "Green Light" sounds like an uplifting anthem until you absorb its desire to move on from a recent relationship without the actual ability to do so.

Lorde echoes that sentiment with some of the best writing of her young career on "Sober," singing, "It's time we dance through the truth." With the help of co executive producer Jack Antonoff, it can sound a bit like Taylor Swift's "1989," only much more biting and raw.

Much of that has to do with Lorde's unique voice, which can shape pop song in the form of alt-R&B. And there's an undeniable edge to her, like when she boldly proclaims "Jack and Jill get f***ed up and possessive...When it gets dark."

Led by the production of electronic maestro Flume, "The Louvre" beats like a heart that's about to burst. But even that's no match for the emotional power of "Liability," where Lorde is at her most vulnerable ("I am a toy people enjoy until the tricks don't work anymore").

Not since Kanye West laid his heart bare on "808's & Heartbreak," has a mainstream pop star made their pain so unapologetically engaging. Just try not to recall at least one time the phrase "When you've out grown a lover, the whole world knows but you" applied to you.

Not everything on "Melodrama" packs such a forceful punch. Sonically, "Homemade Dynamite" sounds like a lesser version of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi," while "Sober II" is overproduced for a record that doesn't really go anywhere.

Lorde is much better suited for "Writer in the Dark," a staggering ballad that knocks you off your feet when the studio effects drop out in favor of Lorde's best vocal performance.

"Melodrama" closes with the the uplifting "Perfect Places," which seems a bit out of place given the rest of the album's despair. But I suppose you have to crawl out of your hole sometime.

Still, that duality isn't lost on Lorde. She fittingly ends her latest album with an a blunt and rhetorical question: "What the f*** are perfect places anyway?" Grade: B+